Bruce Power, University of Waterloo announce Electric Vehicle charging station

Bruce Power's Electric Car. The company has installed charging stations at its Visitors' Centre and in communities through Bruce, Grey and Huron counties.

Bruce Power, Plug’n Drive and the University of Waterloo are collaborating to install an Electric Vehicle (EV) charging station on the school campus in the coming months.

The charging station will provide students and faculty members a place to plug in their EVs while on campus and to be used in recharge testing of research vehicles. It will also help the University reduce its environmental footprint, while promoting EVs as a viable mode of transportation.

“While many students live within walking distance or use public transportation to get to campus, we are aware of the emerging Electric Vehicle market. Here at Waterloo, there are numerous research projects taking place across our Faculties of Engineering and Environment,” said Armughan Al-Haq, Program Manager at the Waterloo Institute of Sustainable Energy (WISE).

According to Mat Thijssen, the University’s sustainability coordinator, electric vehicle charging stations complement the University’s existing efforts to provide a range of transportation choices for the campus, including discounted transit passes for students and employees, an emergency ride home program and carpool matching software.

Francis Chua, Bruce Power’s Department Manager, Environment and Sustainability, said institutions like the University of Waterloo are integral to the future electrification of Ontario’s transportation sector.

“Educating future car buyers about the benefits and increasing viability of Electric Vehicles will help our transportation sector become cleaner and less dependent on fossil fuels in the coming years,” Chua said. “By collaborating with Plug’n Drive and the University of Waterloo to install an EV charging station on campus, we are showing young drivers there is an alternative option to their parents’ gas-powered vehicles.”

The University of Waterloo charging station is the sixth of eight EV charging stations Bruce Power and Plug’n Drive, a non-profit organization committed to accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles, are installing across southwestern Ontario, in collaboration with municipalities, businesses and educational institutions. Other charging stations have recently been opened in Kincardine, Port Elgin, Southampton, Walkerton and Wroxeter.